A senator and former governor of Zamfara State of Nigeria, Ahmed Sani Yerima was questioned by officials of the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP) Tuesday over his marriage to 14-year old Egyptian girl.Yerima, 50, who married the girl in Abuja but refused to respond to the issues. (Yerima told journalists that he was not bound by the laws of Nigeria but by Islamic laws, which he claimed he has not breached)
He was however granted bail asked to report back to the agency on the 15 June,2010.
Outside the court,Yerima told journalists that he was not bound by the laws of Nigeria but by Islamic laws, which he claimed he has not breached.
Yerima, prior to contracting his marriage to the Egyptian child, had divorced a teenage wife whom he married when she was fifteen and is now seventeen.
The seventeen year old ex-wife's education was stopped during the time of the marriage and like the Egyptian girl, she is the daughter of a former driver to the senator.
Arinze Orakwe, head of communication and media of NAPTIP, confirmed the senator's presence in the agency's headquarters, and revealed that Yerima was released after more than two hours of questioning.
"He told the panel that he had not contravened any law and he tendered his marriage certificate to the girl in a Shari'a Court," he said.
The National Human Rights Commission, in a statement, commended NAPTIP for its intervention.
"This singular act has demonstrated that impunity has no place under the current democratic dispensation and sends a loud and clear warning that nobody is above or beneath the law in this country," stated the commission.
Meanwhile, Alliances for Africa, a non-governmental group said it was greatly concerned about the continuing incidents of early marriages in Africa.
"Cases of early marriage or child marriage are evident among some of the masses but are becoming a practice condoned by government officials."
"Although, in the best interest of the child, it is not advisable to disclose the name of the child, investigations reveal that the child is the daughter of Yerima's driver in Cairo, Egypt"
Alliance for Africa said Yerima's marriage "is a clear violation of Section 21 of the Child's Rights Act of Nigeria 2003, which forbids the marriage of persons below 18 years".
It also violates Article 21(2) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which prohibits child marriage and betrothal, as well as Article 6(b), African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa that provides that the minimum age of marriage for women is 18 years. Egyptian Law also limits the minimum age of marriage to 18 years. - 234next.com
Published May 19 2010
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